


Seven Day Challenge

by Aoife



Category: Honor Harrington Series - David Weber
Genre: AU: LaFollet-Harrington (Andrew Variation), Always with the First Times, Canon Compliant, Community: dailyfics, Each Chapter a Different Story, F/F, F/M, Gen, New AUs inside, Please note - not all tags apply to every fic, Writing to Prompts, Written in 24 Hours, flashfics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-05
Updated: 2013-02-11
Packaged: 2017-12-07 13:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/749275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoife/pseuds/Aoife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seven Ficlets:</p><p>1. Secrets - Honor Harrington/Andrew LaFollet - Honor makes a round about admission and an appeal to Andrew.<br/>2. Addiction - Emily Alexander/Honor Harrington - This is Honor's release.<br/>3. Adventure - Emily Alexander/Hamish Alexander - Hamish confesses about Honor (prior to her return)<br/>4. Betrayal - Emily Alexander/Hamish Alexander - Emily's PoV, previous ficlet<br/>5. Remorse - Honor Harrington, gen - Alternative moment of home coming; what Hamish could have felt like.<br/>6. Toxic - Honor Harrington/Andrew LaFollet - Andrew's not above playing dirty to stop his Steadholder fading away.<br/>7. Temptation - Mike Henke/Honor Harrington - The next three years are going to be *so* frustrating for Mike.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Little Secret to Be Told (Secrets)

"I think at this point Andrew, you know almost as many of my secrets as Nimitz does," Her lips quirked into a smile "and you both certainly know me better than my parents do. In fact there are days I'm convinced that you know me better than I know myself."

"M'lady,-"

"Let me finish, please, Andrew? If I stop I'm, -" she wished he had a 'cat, "I'm never going to manage to say this out loud, and, -" she sighed. "I need to because you deserve to know the one secret I've managed to hide from you."

He blinked and Nimitz flowed down from her shoulder into her lap.

"I'm as much of an empath as Nimitz is, Andrew,-" her armsman coloured up, humiliated by the fact that she knew exactly how he felt about her. Nimitz dug the claws of one true hand into her thigh and she swallowed a wince of pain. "If I was willing to say yes, would you be willing to ask, Andrew?"

Her armsman's head had shot up at the question.

"There's a thousand years of precedence,-"

"Andrew. I've already over turned a thousand years of precedence just to hold my Key and be Benjamin's Champion."

He stepped closer and reached out with one hand to cup her the living side of her face, producing a tiny, electric shiver at the bolt of lust that transected them both.

"M'lady?" his breath ghosted across her face.

"Please, Andrew." She leant into the hand cupping her face, almost nuzzling it, and that seemed to snap his control.

"Tester keep us both, because I'm not strong enough to say no, m'lady." The kiss was everything promised, and Nimitz bleeked his satisfaction as he slithered out of the way of distracted human bodies.


	2. Another Woman's Puppet (Addiction)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is Honor's release.

There are some in the Manticorian and Grayson navies that believe that the fire of battle is Honor's addiction; that to take her from the command deck of a warship would be to condemn her to a slow and miserable death (and they would have been right, if Benjamin hadn't given her Harrington Steading and demanded that she help him drag Grayson into modernity) ... but they're wrong.

It was, as all their best ideas were, Emily's idea. There is something incredibly freeing about being Emily's puppet and her fantasy, and the incredible richness of Hamish's and Emily's combined emotions when Honor invited her into the bedroom she shared with Hamish was overwhelming - and that, that is what she is addicted to.


	3. To Confess My Sins (Adventure)

Hamish Alexander had no idea how he had ended up in this position. He'd told Emily what he was guilty of not long after the Battle of Basilisk Terminal, when he realised how easy it would have been to have given the same command as Admiral Yanakov.

He'd gone to Emily almost on his knees and made his penance. His wife had gone very, very quiet and he'd seen the tears that rolled down her cheeks, but she'd comforted and then forgiven him. 

When Honor had returned, triumphant at the head of half a million escaped prisoners he'd been the one to welcome her home and it had been one of the most painfully exquisite days of his life.  

He'd sworn to love only one woman, and Honor had been safely dead. Now she wasn't and Emily knew he loved her as well and instead of feeling betrayed, she'd slipped a letter onto the dispatch boat that responded to the notification of Honor's survival telling him to take the chance offered. There was a second letter, one for Honor on the same dispatch boat ...


	4. To Give Contrition (Betrayal)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missing Scene (Echoes of Honor era), same verse as yesterday's ficlet, Emily's PoV on Hamish's admission.

The tears trickled down her cheeks. How could he. How could he. How could he tell her that? How could he fall in love with someone else. She knew about Theodora Kusiak and the courtesans, but ... she owed Theodora a debt for piecing her husband back together again and then sending him back to her. And it had still taken her years and long conversations with her priest to work through her anger at both of them for it. The solution to that part of their marriage had ended up being the registered courtesans; her gift to him. She chose them, dressed them, give them their instructions on what to do. And still he ... 

_"Who, Hamish?"_

...is in love with a dead woman. Her competition for his affections is a dead woman, and he's determined to think that he drove her out to die - that somehow she found out how he felt and she ran from him right into a Havenite squadron. She knows Hamish Alexander, Earl White Haven, better than he knows himself, can read the guilt on his face and in his voice as he begs for absolution from the one person left he can ask for it.

_"Tell me how, Hamish. Make me understand, please?_

The tears that trickle down her cheeks are no longer just for herself.  



	5. A One-Sided Obsession (Remorse)

"Welcome home, Honor."

She couldn't breathe. He was still obsessed with her, and so desperately, desperately guilty about what had happened.

"Thank you, -" she could barely think for the strength of his emotions. Andrew stepped closer in behind her and pressed one hand to the small of her back. 

_"Say the word, m'lady."_

"- Admiral White Haven." Andrew was a calm presence that allowed her to think through the rolling strength of the other Admiral's emotions, as Nimitz battled to damp down a link he'd previously wrenched wide open.

She made it through the rest of the formal welcome home on autopilot, using her own and Nimitz's injuries to avoid touching anyone as her 'cat radiated apology at her.


	6. Fade Away (Poison)

He swallowed and knelt by her side.

"My lady, I _know_ your wounds are still bleeding, but the Steading _needs_ you."

"Why, Andrew? Tell me what my regent can't do. Tell me why I must live when my heart's been torn out?"

He reached out a hand tentativly to brush the cheek of his gaunt mistress. His other hand brushed Nimitz's fur delicately.

"For Nimitz and I then, my lady."

She looked him in the eyes. 

"You mean that, don't you, Andrew."

They remained there, an odd sort of tableau for what felt like hours until Andrew brushed a soft kiss against her forehead and stood to return to his post outside her door.

"Andrew?"

"Yes, My Lady?"

"What makes you stay?"

"Honor, my lady."

She laughed. Bitter hollow laughter that made him cringe a little. Nimitz almost glared at him, and Andrew dropped back to his knees beside her.

"Honor, my lady -" he stopped and shook his head. "You." 

He reached out and laid a hand on her arm. He dropped every layer of protective coloration. Every shield he'd worn against the 'cat since he volunteered to be her armsman and then shoved the resounding mess at his Steadholder and her 'cat. She looked shell-shocked for a long moment.

"Oh, Andrew. I -" he shook his head.

"Don't, please, my lady? Leave me my illusions. My delusions of self-respect,-" she'd pushed herself up into a sitting position while he spoke and laid a single finger on his lips. 

"I'm toxic, Andrew. I get people killed."

"And you save more people m'lady. Including me, -" he took a deep breath "Honor" He breathed her name and she looked almost puzzled until he lent forward and kissed her.


	7. Articles of War (Temptation)

Being Honor's subordinate rather than her senior (both socially and professionally) was hotter than Mike Henke ever wanted to admit.

And that was why she'd upped the amount of celery she carried, despite Honor's bemused comments about Nimitz's appetite. The 'cat was too damn good at reading her, and while he understood about not attacking people who threatened Honor … without damn good cause at least. (She was one of the few people who hadn't been surprised by the Yeltsin's Star footage. She'd once seen the footage of Monroe's defence of her cousin's husband-to-be.) He didn't see why his human should deny herself anything. And he approved of Mike … and she was convinced that he was good enough with things like door locks that him matchmaking could get amusing.

So hence her current dilemma. If she went to her cousin, admitted what was happening and allowed Elizabeth to pull strings, she could court Honor. But the moment Honor found out she'd talked to Elizabeth her best friend would shut down from sheer mortification and if she didn't get permission, Honor's damnedable sense of honor would get in the way or worse get one of them brought up on charges.

Damn it. She was going to enjoy being under her best friend's command, but she'd rather be under Honor. And this was going to make her next three years equal parts fun and frustrating as hell. Mike shook her head. Life wasn't fair and if she kept winding round this line of thought she was going to drive herself mad. It was quite possible she was going to have to consider this the price of command, which was a very Honor-ish sentiment. And then she was going to have to try very hard to catch her best friend the moment they stopped both being assigned to Nike. And until then … time to go shopping.


End file.
